Thanks to a grant from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, as well as state funding specifically earmarked for infrastructure projects, the Weatherspoon Art Museum is able to seize an unprecedented opportunity to improve the building and the visitor and staff experience. In order to make these changes, the museum will close for summer.
The museum is installing all new lighting throughout the upstairs galleries and subtly reconfiguring walls to allow for easier traffic flow between the Guild and Ivy Galleries. The Benjamin Auditorium will get a new computer system, and the first-floor galleries will be entirely repainted ahead of the 2024-25 exhibitions.
The upstairs lounge and seating areas will remain open and available to students up until the end of day Saturday, April 20. The first-floor spaces will close after May 25. During this time, staff, art history faculty, and construction crews will be the only ones allowed to access to the museum interior. Signage will be on all doors and gates.
The museum will reopen on August 13 to its regular hours from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Visitors will be able to see the changes made to the building to keep up with Weatherspoon’s strategic framework.
Before the first floor closes, guests can check out the 2024 UNCG MFA Thesis Exhibition from April 27 to May 25. This year’s exhibition will feature work by Erin Fei, Karrington Gardner, Sam Machia Keshet, Jason Lord, and Daniel Ramirez-Lamos and represents the culmination of each student’s unique experience at UNCG. The exhibition demonstrates the research, reflection, experimentation, critical thinking, and artistic skills honed by these artists while in the program.
Weatherspoon will hold an artists talk and reception for the MFA Thesis Exhibition on May 2 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The Lalla Essaydi exhibition will also remain on view until May 25.
Updates will be posted on the Weatherspoon Art Museum website and in regular social media and email communications.
Photography by David Lee Row, University Communications
